Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Intel technical notes ahead of resultsThe stock has been in a downtrend for the past year, with a moderation of that downtrend into a shallow uptrend since late last year. There are really just two big areas of price to be concerned with ahead of results. It woud take a move above or below the range high and low to change the direction of the stock significantly from where it has been in the last two months. On the upside, the 200-day moving average is strong resistance at $22.51. A breakout above this price level that persists would get the stock back on a bullish footing, with next resistance at $23.37. The downtrend that was in place before the move up in recent months would not resume until or if price breaks the 52-week low at $19.23. In between that low and the 200-day, the stock would just be marking time, heading sideways.

Altera volatility increases on buy report Altera (ALTR) April call option implied volatility is at 64, June is at 39; compared to its 26-week average of 26 according to Track Data, suggesting large price movement after the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Intel (INTC) is in advanced talks to acquire the company.

Altera buyout would be slight positive for Intel, Xilinx, says CitigroupCitigroup believes Intel's (INTC) potential acquisition of Altera (ALTR), as reported Friday by The Wall Street Journal, would be a slight positive for Intel since Altera's business is high-margin and grows faster than the overall semi sector. Citi also believes the deal would potentially improve Xilinx’s (XLNX) competitive positioning since Intel's foundry is experiencing challenges and Altera would likely be stuck with using Intel foundry if it were acquired. The firm keeps a Neutral rating on Intel with a $32 price target.

If Intel buys Altera, Xilinx may become a takeover target, Re/code says If published reports from Friday of chipmaker Intel's (INTC) intentions to acquire Altera (ALTR) turn out to be accurate, look for Altera peer Xilinx (XLNX) to be a takeover target, says Re/code says. Reference Link

On The Fly: Closing Wrap Stocks opened slightly higher but were unable to gather any upside momentum. They quickly crossed into negative territory but never really picked up speed to the downside. After the slightly better than expected consumer confidence reading, the averages moved back into positive ground where they spent most of the session hovering near the flat line. Near the close, comments by Fed Chair Janet Yellen that an interest rate hike "may be warranted later this year," lifted the averages into positive territory. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., real GDP growth was steady at 2.2% in Q4, falling below consensus forecasts for 2.4% growth. GDP price index grew 0.1% on a linked quarter basis, matching expectations. U.S. consumer sentiment fell to 93.0 against consensus of 92.1. The current conditions index dipped to 105.0 from February's 106.9, while the consumer expectations index dropped to 85.3 from 88.0. COMPANY NEWS: Dow Chemical (DOW) and Olin (OLN) were up 3% and 14%, respectively, after announcing that Dow will separate much of its chlorine value chain and merge the entity with Olin in a $5B deal. Additionally, the companies announced a 20-year arrangement in which Dow will supply Olin with ethylene. Late in the session, the Wall Street Journal reported that Intel (INTC) was in talks to acquire Altera (ALTR), sending both stocks higher by 6% and 28%, respectively. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Carnival (CCL), which rose over 6% after beating earnings expectations and raising FY15 revenue yield guidance. Also higher was BioMarin (BMRN), jumping 11% after speculation of a Shire (SHPG) takeover deal. Among the noteworthy losers was Southern Cooper (SCCO), which fell nearly 4% after the company cancelled its Tia Maria mining project. Also lower was OvaScience (OVAS), down 10% after Oppenheimer reported pushback from academics during the company's presentation of early Augment data. Opco cautioned, however, that criticism of non-trial data is "inevitable" and JMP Securities called the results encouraging. INDEXES: The Dow rose 34.43, or 0.19%, to 17,712.66, the Nasdaq gained 27.86, or 0.57%, to 4,891.22, and the S&P 500 added 4.87, or 0.24%, to 2,061.02.

Altera calls active on Intel in talks to buy reportAltera (ALTR) April 36 and 37 calls are active after DJ reported Intel (INTC) is in acquisition talks. April call option implied volatility is at 55, May is at 34; compared to its 26-week average of 26 according to Track Data. Active call volume suggests traders taking positions for upside price movement.

Intel in talks to buy Altera, WSJ reports Intel (INTC) is in talks to acquire Altera (ALTR) in what would be Intel's largest deal ever, according to the Wall Street Journal, which added that terms of the deal and timing couldn't be learned. Reference Link